Febeuaey 3, 1899.] 



SCIENC.E. 



173 



self and Mr. Duggar (in the preceding 

 paper), and another is due to a Fusarium. 

 The differences in the effects of the two are 

 described. 



W. F. Ganong, 



Secretary. 

 Sjuth College, Noethampton, Mass. 



ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMER- 

 ICAN FOLK-LOBE SOCIETY. 



This meeting, held in connection with 

 the affiliated societies, at Columbia College, 

 on December 2Sth and 29th, was indica- 

 tive of progress. According to the report 

 of the Council the number of members 

 had remained about constant, amounting 

 to about five hundred. The report of the 

 Treasurer showed that annual receipts and 

 expenses were about equal. As the next 

 volume of the series of Memoirs of the So- 

 ciety was announced a second part of ' Cur- 

 rent Superstitions,' by Mrs. Fanny D. Ber- 

 gen, including those relating to animals 

 and plants; the first part of this work forms 

 the fourth volume of the Memoirs, of which 

 six volumes have now appeared. 



As officers for 1 899 were elected Professor 

 C L. Edwards, of the University of Cin- 

 cinnati, President ; Miss Alice C. Fletcher, 

 Washington, First Vice-President ; Mr. C. 

 F. Lummis, Los Angeles, Cal., Second Vice- 

 President. The Secretary and Treasurer 

 hold over. 



A committee was appointed to take into 

 consideration the subject of the collection 

 and record of folk-music, and to propose 

 plans for the more adequate collection of 

 negro folk-music in America. 



The address of the retiring President, Dr. 

 Henry Wood, of Johns Hopkins University, 

 dealt with ' Folk-lore and metaphor in lit- 

 erary style.' The object of the speaker was 

 to exhibit the dependence of the consciously 

 artistic metaphor of literature to the tradi- 

 tional metaphor which forms its underlying 

 basis. 



Among papers read may be mentioned 

 observations on ' The study of ethics among 

 the lower races,' contributed by Dr. Wash- 

 ington Matthews. The writer considered 

 the study of myths and traditions to be the 

 safest guide ia this field, which as yet has 

 scarcely been traversed ; but in the use of 

 such material it is necessary to proceed 

 with caution and employ the critical meth- 

 ods of modern science. If the gods of the 

 tribe are considered as approving any ac- 

 tion, or if the author of the tale appears to 

 look for the approbation of his audience, it 

 may be concluded that the act is regarded 

 as possessing a moral quality, however, 

 repulsive it may appear according to our 

 ideas. That there exists a strong sense of 

 the morality of conduct is obvious from the 

 security of life; thus the Navahoes live in 

 entire peace withouts courts or punish- 

 ments. With this people there exists no 

 penalty for theft ; the thief is merely re- 

 quired to restore the stolen property. Ac- 

 cording to the myths incest is presumed 

 to be confined to witches and cannibals. 

 Truthfulness is not inculcated as a dut}', 

 yet Dr. Matthews had found the veracity 

 of the people to be about equal to that of 

 the whites. Expectation of reward in a 

 future life does not exist. Conscience forms 

 an effective power. The tales attest the 

 frequency of active benevolence. 



Mr. W. W. -Newell offered some observa- 

 tions on the relation, in sun- myths, of the 

 visual impression to the sj'mbolic concep- 

 tion. He pointed out the antiquity and 

 universality of the radiant disk as a solar 

 symbol, arguing that the effect on the sight 

 must have been constant. He considered 

 the variety of the myths to be the result of 

 causal explanations, the orb being consid- 

 ered as an object somehow to be got through 

 the sky, treating of the Indian mj'ths re- 

 garding the sun-bearer, who is often con- 

 founded with the orb he carries. Dr. Boas 

 observed that among the Kooteuay, for 



